- Lawsuit Filed to Halt Fukushima Wastewater Discharge
- China Bans Japanese Seafood Imports in Response
- Impact on Japanese Seafood Industry and Efforts to Reassure Public
More than a hundred fishermen and locals living near Fukushima will file a lawsuit this week to halt the discharge of wastewater from the crippled Japanese nuclear plant, they announced on Monday.
Japan began discharging treated cooling water diluted with seawater into the Pacific on August 24 while asserting it was safe, twelve years after one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents.
Numerous Japanese fishermen oppose the release for concern that it will undo years of efforts to improve the industry’s image following the 2011 disaster.
Sugie Tanji, a member of the group’s secretariat, told AFP that on Friday, more than one hundred plaintiffs from Fukushima and neighboring prefectures will submit a lawsuit in Fukushima District Court.
She stated that the government had broken its guarantee to obtain fishermen’s consent before making such a release decision.
This policy is flawed because it disregards the opposition of not only the Fukushima fishermen’s cooperative but also cooperatives from across the nation, according to a group statement.
“The release into the ocean can never be tolerated because it causes additional suffering for nuclear accident victims,” the report added.
China has issued a blanket prohibition on Japanese seafood imports in response to Japan’s release of contaminated water.
Government offices and enterprises in Japan have also received thousands of nuisance calls from Chinese phone numbers.
The city government of Tokyo alone received 34,300 inquiries from August 24-31, according to the report.
The Japanese government has made endeavors to reassure the public that Fukushima’s fish and other produce are safe to consume.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, ate Fukushima salmon in front of television cameras last week.
“Ours is superior”
Before the water release, China was Japan’s largest export market for seafood, and the Beijing prohibition is causing concern in the industry.
Yoshinobu Yoshihashi, a Tokyo-based wholesaler, has shipped “more than half” of his oysters, sea urchins, and magnificent alfonsino to Asian countries.
Yoshihashi told AFP on Saturday at the massive Toyosu fish market, “We’re having a difficult time.”
“The impact is quite severe in Hong Kong and Macau in particular. “According to our clients there, their customers are no longer coming in, and they are rejecting Japanese fish,” he said.
Before releasing the water, the Japanese government “should have done more to convey globally the safety of the water. Even within Japan, some individuals express fear, he stated.
“I’ve always been and continue to be proud of Japanese seafood. Ours is superior,” he continued.
Kishida has already pledged assistance for the industry, and ministers were rumored to be discussing the specifics on Monday.
